Idaho Lawmaker Wants States To Prevent Obama’s Re-Election

11:00 am - 11/27/2012

Idaho Lawmaker Wants States To Prevent Obama’s Re-Election

One Idaho state lawmaker is still in denial over election results and would like to see states challenge the legitimacy of Obama’s reelection. Last week, Idaho State Sen. Sheryl Nuxoll (R) amplified a debunked theory circulating Tea Party blogs, that claims Romney still has a chance to win if enough states refuse to participate in the Electoral College.

Even though Obama won 51 percent of the popular vote, by Nuxoll’s reasoning, “states are going to have to stand up for our individual rights and for our collective rights” because he is “depriving us of our freedoms.”

Constitutional Accountability Center’s Emily Phelps explains why the idea that unhappy Republicans can prevent the Electoral College from reaching a “quorum” is completely wrong: “A quick reading shows that [Tea Party Nation's] Phillips has his voting bodies backward. There is no quorum requirement for the Electoral College. If pro-Romney electors boycotted the meeting as Phillips has urged, the others would simply meet without them and elect President Obama.”

The original story on World Net Daily, a conspiracy site that regularly pushes “birtherism”, now has a major caveat. The site’s editors added the note: “Since this column was posted it has been discovered that the premise presented about the Electoral College and the Constitution is in error. According to the 12th Amendment, a two-thirds quorum is required in the House of Representatives, not the Electoral College.”

I've heard it as "nutty as a fruitcake, loony as a goon", but not as a homophobic slur. I have heard words like "fruit" and "fruity" used as homophobic slurs, so it is possible that "fruitcake" has slid into that connotation for some people because of the similarity. I would expect living where I do - in Texas and in a city with a large gay community - if it was used a common homosexual slur, I'd have heard it used that way. So, maybe it is an area thing.

This is someone who is supposed to be at least mildly conversant with the American voting system. You know, the one that doesn't base its results off of sticking your fingers in your ears and screaming "LA LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOOOOU!"